Gatecrashers At The Palace
Sydney Morning Herald
Tuesday April 8, 2003
United States forces have struck deep into central Baghdad, occupying Saddam Hussein's presidential complex and promising further lightning raids to humiliate the hidden Iraqi leader.
Stepping up the weekend's incursion tactics, tank units yesterday brushed aside weak enemy resistance and rolled into the palace compound and surrounding government buildings.
Late last night, tank troops remained within the palace complex, reinforcing the allies' military superiority.
Signs of Saddam's humiliation were everywhere.
The 65 tanks and 40 Bradley fighting vehicles in the strike force were able to easily pierce city sites west of the Tigris River.
Tanks rumbled through the giant military parade grounds, rolled passed the Ministry of Information and stopped momentarily outside the al-Rasheed Hotel a building whose bowels are believed to contain a vital command and control centre.
Soldiers toppled a large statue of Saddam astride a horse. Others carried US flags into the palace compound although none was seen flying from the roof of the sprawling Republican Palace, which contains Saddam's main office and security compound.
A US infantry officer declared in the compound that Saddam had lost control of his own city.
``We own Baghdad, we own his palaces, we own downturn," he said, before vowing to ``turn on one of the gold faucets in Saddam Hussein's bathroom" and have his first shower for weeks.
Such confidence owed much to the meagre Iraqi resistance. Members of Saddam's Republican Guard and his militia unit, the fedayeen, fled along the banks of the Tigris, abandoning their uniforms and weapons. Some were running in their underwear.
But US forces are still wary of probing defences east of the Tigris, where Saddam's remaining loyal troops are reportedly digging in.
There is still some organisation in the Iraqi resistance, with troops regaining control of the information and foreign ministries later in the day and engaging in firefights in some residential areas.
As well, two vital bridges to the north have been blown up to impede the allied advance.
Despite the success of the strike, US central command in Qatar said it would not guarantee that the advance forces would remain in the compound.
It continues to stress that this is not the main battle for Baghdad, but a repeat of the weekend ``divide and conquer' tactics to undermine Saddam's flagging defences.
``The goal of this is not to take ground," said Captain Frank Thorp. ``This is an armoured raid through the city."
A Pentagon official described it as ``a show of force . . . an operation designed to send a powerful message to the regime that we can go wherever we want, when we want".
The Iraqi Information Minister, Muhammad Saeed al-Sahaf, retained his stoic front, even when confronted with television images of the daring tank raids.
``Their infidels are committing suicide by the hundreds on the gates of Baghdad," he said. ``Do not believe those liars."
The attack on the presidential compound, on the west bank of the Tigris, began at 8am with co-ordinated assaults on its four gatehouses. Minutes later missiles struck the heart of the 120-hectare compound, sending plumes of smoke and debris rising from the palace.
The exchanges in the compound included missiles, artillery and machine-gun fire, and mortars and grenades.
In another blow for the regime, British officers claimed to have found the body of ``Chemical Ali", Saddam's cousin and commander of the southern region.
Ali Hassan al-Majid, who earned his nickname for his use of chemical weapons to wipe out Kurdish resistance in the north in 1988, was believed to have died when US aircraft bombed his house on Saturday.
In London, the British Defence Secretary, Geoff Hoon, said that although there was uncertainty over the whereabouts of Saddam and his sons, there were strong indications that ``Chemical Ali" was dead.
``We are still not sure of the location of either Saddam Hussein or his sons there are reports beginning to come in as to the whereabouts of some of those three," Mr Hoon told a press conference.
He added that British troops had moved into the heart of the southern city of Basra and were there to stay.
© 2003 Sydney Morning Herald
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